The image appears to be a doctored promotional image from the Netflix drug lord series "Narcos." The campaign's meme superimposed McConnell's face onto the figure of Pablo Escobar covered in white powder. The Hill's Will Sommer found the relevant promo.

The campaign's meme was apparently a reference to "Cocaine Mitch," the nickname Blankenship tossed at McConnell in a bizarre attack ad released in the final days of the campaign. The Blankenship spot also took swipes at the "China people" behind the senator, a reference to McConnell's wife's family.